VIDEO Speaker: 'It's good to look back'

Christine Lovelace and Rosetta McFadden both of Troy talk prior to graduation ceremonies for students of the Capital District Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) Thursday May 27, 2010 at McDonough Sports Complex on HVCC Campus. Photo by (J.S. Carras/The Record)

Venus Ward of Troy is all smiles before graduation ceremonies for students of the Capital District Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) Thursday May 27, 2010 at McDonough Sports Complex on HVCC Campus. Photo by (J.S. Carras/The Record)

TROY -- More than 450 students received certificates Thursday night when the Capital District Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) at Hudson Valley Community College celebrated its 44th graduation ceremony.

The EOC has offered free academic, business, service and technical programs -- ranging from GED prep to cosmetology to welding -- to low-income and under-educated students since 1966.

Dwight Christopher, of Albany, who received his certification in building trades, was there with his wife, Sala, who graduated from the EOC last year.

"She's my backbone, my support system," he said. "Without her this would not be happening."

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Sala Christopher studied vocational math, and is now enrolled in the information technology program.

"I want to be a pillar in the community, and I want my husband to be there with me," she said.

Christine Lovelace, of Troy, was one three graduates singled out during the ceremony for her achievements at the EOC.

Lovelace, a single mother raising three children under 10, was a high school drop out on public assistance who entered the Bridge program, which combines education with work training. Now she's working as a clerical assistant for the EOC and hoping to attend HVCC.

"It was tough with the kids, but it feels good to be on the other side now," she said. "And I get to help pay it forward and help other Bridge students get to where I am now.

Her children were there to cheer her on Thursday night.

"I'm really proud that they get to see me here today," she said. "Maybe it will keep them going."

Speakers at the ceremony talked about challenges graduates had to overcome.

"They responded with action - action to make a change in themselves, to reach out and grab hold of an opportunity presented to them," said Dr. Lucille Marion, vice president and executive director of the EOC. "Graduates envisioned a future for themselves, and they have acted on creating that future, and this process has changed them, and will in turn change the world around them."

Linda Comstock, who received her GED in 1975 and now works for the Regional Food Bank, was given the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Comstock dropped out of high school when she became pregnant at 17, eventually ending up in an abusive marriage and often told she would never achieve anything.

As she addressed the graduates, she said that while some people may tell you to forget the past, you should always remember how far you've come.

"It is good to look back," she said. "I am not who I was, nor am I what I thought I would be. I am more than anyone expected."

The most powerful words came from student speaker Vincent Holmes, who, at age 55, received his GED.

Holmes hated school from the beginning, he said, eventually dropping out and working a series of dead-end, low-paying jobs.

"But now things are looking better," he said. "There will be doors open to me that were never there before."

He's excited for the opportunities available to him now, and encouraged his fellow graduates to continue striving for more.